Paintbox Tip #17 BRUSH CARE

Demonstration painting Mish-Mash

​I've got lots of new students, beginners and not-so beginners, so this is a good time to talk about how to care for your watercolour brushes.

Why?

because they're expensive - my first natural bristle brush cost $300 - I'd better look after it!!

that was close to 25 years ago and it's still a great brush - because I look after it!!

1. Rinse sizing out of new brushes. Some new brushes come with gum-arabic sizing holding the bristles together. The bristles will feel hard and crusty and may be stuck together completely. To remove the glue before first use, simply swill the brush around in clean warm water and use your fingers to gently massage the sizing out of the bristles.
2. Prepare your brushes before you start painting by wetting them and letting them absorb a little water before you start painting. Blot off the excess water and leave them lying flat on a towel (or tip down if you have a brush holder). You want them ready to go when you need them so they'll absorb paint and water when you want to load your brush - it's impossible to paint with a dry brush!!
3. Always squeeze out fresh paint before you start painting, this doesn't seem like brush care I know, however, brush bristles will wear and break if continually used to scrub at dry (aka bird poo) paint.
4. Don’t leave watercolour brushes standing/soaking in water. 
5. When you are finished painting for the day, rinse thoroughly with clear water, blot them gently with a clean towel and leave them to dry flat on a towel. 
6. Don't store your brushes in an airtight container, even if you think they are dry inside the ferrule, they might not be. Remove your damp brushes from rolls or open up brush carriers as soon as you get home. If you transport your brushes to a class or a plein air session in a brush carrier, be sure to unroll or open it as soon as you get home to allow moisture to evaporate and let them dry completely before re-packing, but this may not be practical in a multi-day workshop or while traveling. But do at least take the time to open up your brush carrier and let your brushes dry out.
   In addition to the problems of handles cracking or ferrules loosening, leaving brushes stored in a closed carrier can lead to mold. Many watercolor paints contain ingredients like honey or glycerin to help them stay moist. Once you get mold contamination in your brushes or paints, it can be very difficult to eradicate, so it’s best not to give it a chance to get started.
7. Don’t panic if a natural bristle brush gets schmooshed and dries in a wonky shape, just reshape the brush using warm water. If that’s not enough to do the trick, blot the brush to remove excess water and use gum arabic to reshape the bristles and hold them in place. After the brush dries, rinse out the gum arabic as you would sizing from a new brush and all should be well. On rare occasions, I’ve had to repeat the process a few times to completely reshape the brush.
8. Don’t trim your brushes "to get a better point". Occasionally, you will find a brush hair or two sticking straight out to the side, and the warm-water trick doesn’t fix it. In this case, the brush hair may actually be partially broken, and the best solution is to trim that one hair (or two) off at the ferrule. But don’t try to reshape an entire brush by trimming it. It simply doesn’t work. The reason a brush comes to a point is that there are longer hairs in the middle AND that each hair (even synthetic ones) has a natural taper to it. Trimming the brush removes the natural taper and makes it LESS likely that you’ll get a good point.
   To really understand this—and just because it’s fascinating!—watch this video about how watercolor brushes are made. It helps explain why they’re so expensive, too! Lots of steps done by hand and it’s not a simple skill to learn. (If you liked that one, you might also like this longer series on how traditional Chinese brushes are made.)
   There are three common reasons why a brush won’t come to a sharp point:
   a. It’s a poorly made - sigh! There’s no fixing this. The best way to avoid that problem is to buy your brushes (at least the expensive ones) at an art supply store that will let you try the brush in clear water before buying. Even a high-quality brush can be damaged in shipping or by other customers handling it in the store, so this is especially helpful if the brush does not have any sizing or protective cover. It might still be a perfectly good brush, but trying it out will ensure it hasn’t been damaged.
   b. The longest hairs at the tip of the brush have been broken or split. Depending on your style, a good natural-hair or quality brush may last a few months or a lifetime. You have to be pretty rough with it to break a brush down in a few months, but aggressively stabbing at the paper, scrubbing and dry-brushing can be hard on a brush. My solution to this is to use one of the wonderful synthetics or synthetic-natural hair blend brushes on the market today, paint with abandon, and buy a new brush after 2 or 3 years.
   c.  it wasn't designed to have a point  - my favourite brushes are rounded points.
9. Never use your good brushes for applying masking fluid! Masking fluid dries fast and is impossible to remove! 
10. Before using ANY brush for masking, wet it with soap solution. I simply dip my masking brush in water and scrub it around on a bar of soap. I’m especially careful to get some soap worked into the area near the ferrule, to keep masking fluid OUT!
11. Love them and USE them lots! Yes you might wear them out or even better, your brush miles will make you want a better brush - fantastic!!

ciao cari pittori!!

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